On 30th November all young people will have exited the Greater Manchester Talent Match programme. Talent Coaches have provided a detailed exit strategy for each young person, identifying their ongoing needs and how/where these will be met. Our first young person registered in July 2014 and since then we've supported just shy of 2,000 young people on journeys towards employment. We're immensely proud of the progress young people have made: they embody the resilience, adaptability and determination that characterises Greater Manchester. Reflecting earlier this month, one Talent Coach line manager asserted that the programme has saved lives. Whilst we have undoubtedly equipped young people to build better futures for
themselves and gain a sense of self-mastery, this would not have been possible without the assets young people already possessed. A huge thank you to all of the 45 Host Organisations and the 137 Talent Coaches who've worked with us over the past five years - it's been a pleasure. It's not quite 'the end' though...read on to hear what's coming up...

Legacy programme Because we've learned so much about supporting young people furthest from the workplace, we (GMCVO - the lead partner in GM Talent Match) have applied to the Big Lottery for funding to continue supporting 'hidden' young people. We want to deliver the kind of holistic key worker support we know works so well - albeit on a scaled down level. Time scales have been delayed slightly, but we should know if we have been successful by mid-December. Our bid was strenghtened by the fact the Greater Manchester Combined Authority have approved match funding for the project (should our bid to thhe Big Lottery be successful).

Greater Manchester Talent Match would like to invite employers to our end of programme Employer Workshop. This workshop will be a thank you to those employers who participated in the programme, a celebration of successes and an opportunity to discuss what’s next. Click here to book your place.

End-of-programme video and Youth Panel

We've been working behind the scenes on a video that charts the history of the programme. Next month this will be uploaded to our website (which will remain active for the foreseeable) and sent to all stakeholders.

Support Jobcentre Plus to improve their services by deepening their understanding of young people’s needs

Support disengaged young people to find out more about Jobcentre Plus and its services

After some negotiation, Youth Panel members visited Oldham JCP in September to learn more about the services offered, meet staff and better understand what happens there. Next month's e-bulletin will contain a report evaluating the project's successes and how youth led it was.

Final Evaluation Reports

Because we want our learning to be embedded in future youth employment support and this research, over the coming months the GM Talent Match Project Team will be evaluating how effective and efficient the programme has been.

In March we will publish thematic reports and distribute to all e-bulletin subscribers. The themes are: Coach Successes; Mutli-sector Partnerships and Payment by Results; Co-production and Tokenism, and Employer Engagement.

Opportunities Hub

GMCVO is considering keeping the Opportunities Hub going as a resource until the new GM Careers Portal is launched next September. To help us make this decision, the Hub will stay live until the end of January - at which point we will review how it is being used. During this period we will keep the Hub updated with new opportunities, although our reduced staffing capacity means that these may take longer to be uploaded. Visit the Opportunities Hub by clicking here.

Members, partners and friends are welcome to join us at the St Thomas Centre for afternoon tea and cakes, networking and news at our Annual General Meeting. The new GMCVO website will be launched, the 2017-18 Anual Review will be adopted and there will be updates about whatGMCVO and its partners have achieved over the past 12 months.